God is omniscient. When he created the universe, he saw the sufferings which humans would endure as a result of the sin of those original humans. He heard the screams of the damned. Surely he would have known that it would have been better for those humans to never have been born (in fact, the Bible says this very thing), and surely this all-compassionate deity would have foregone the creation of a universe destined to imperfection in which many of the humans were doomed to eternal suffering. A perfectly compassionate being who creates beings which he knows are doomed to suffer is impossible.
2006-08-17 11:01:59 · 20 answers · asked by Atheist 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yup. I'll go along with that. Gave you a thumbs-up rating to prove it.
2006-08-17 11:09:41 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
Your screen name is Atheist. Therefore (one presumes) you don't believe in a God. How, then, since you do not believe in a Supreme Being, can you possibly understand what motivates It?
You are quoting (or rather, redacting) words which you have read. Your situation is something akin to a deaf person looking at a page of musical notation. Intellectually you have an understanding of what the words say ... spiritually, you are unable to hear.
The critical part which you have missed out is that man is created with free will. He can choose to walk in harmony with creation or not (I hope that, by putting it in terms which avoid the word 'God', you therefore may understand better.) Walking in harmony with creation does necessitate understanding that there is a force - an energy - which is continually 'creating' with 'love' the entire universe. I apostrophised those terms to show that they are words which describe an ineffable thing. There are many other words which would do equally as well.
I see that you are already getting nonsense, bigoted answers from both sides ... and I laugh greatly! I also am aware that what I say doesn't sound very friendly towards you. That is not true. I do understand your dilemma (because I was somewhere around there myself once) and also I think that you are making it sound worse than it really is - for the sake of argument. One does, on here ... can't be helped!
2006-08-17 11:20:28 · answer #2 · answered by Owlwings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Excellent point, and so true, but it's even worse than that. God in the Bible (for believers) was not that good, in fact, he set a terrible example for people to follow. Consider this ...
The Bible is Trash.
The Bible is the biggest load of garbage and codswallop ever written by man, and I’m sure it will go down in history as the greatest load of gobbledygook ever to inflict such traumatic mental and physical damage on humanity, but still today, some people sadly believe the Bible to be true. That’s very sad indeed. Very sad.
When people quote various passages from the Bible, for example ...
Mathew 5:29-30 God encouraged self-mutilation.
Isaiah 13:15-18 God allowed women raped and little children slaughtered.
Genesis 6:11-17 and 7:11-24 God is the greatest mass murder in history.
What happens? Religious people pop up from under every stone with the same old garbage. “That was the old Bible, or we’ve changed the meaning, or we’ve changed the context, or the quotes are out of context or or or, excuse after excuse.”
The fact is, they are Bible quotes, and the Bible is full of evil atrocities which religious people continually cover up, yet seem happy to drum into the minds of gullible little children. This is such a shameful disgrace in a civilised world.
If religious people are unable to apply commonsense and logic to develop a simple moral code to live by, then perhaps they could strip out of the Bible the evil, murders, rapes, abuse, and all traumatic references. Granted there will not be a lot left to read, but at least religious people may end up with a decent moral code to follow based on good, and not scare the living daylights out of innocent little children.
2006-08-17 11:09:46 · answer #3 · answered by Brenda's World 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It is not impossible you see God lets us humans have our on will. We get to decide between doing what's right or what's wrong. God wanted a true relationship with humans. He wanted their company. He will not force us to do something or to have a relationship with him. He is a gentleman. He could have created robots that do everything he commands and say I love you but that wouldn't be real love. God is long suffering that is to say he is patiently waiting for us to turn to him. He gives humans many chances to turn back to him. Jesus was perfect he never hurt anybody. He healed the sick and had compassion for others yet he suffered a painful death to pay the price of our sins. God is love. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Cor 13:4-7 Bible" God is in the business of redeeming. Not all is lost. Hope this helps!
2006-08-17 11:45:06 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You must also remember God's perfect Justice. His compassion is alongside His justice, love, sovereignty, etc.
To even begin to understand why God does anything, you must consider God as a whole, not just certain aspects about Him. Example: Why would I (as a medium-rare steak kind of guy that likes a little veal on the side sometimes) insist on buy eggs from free-range chickens? It makes no sense, if you are only taking in to account that I love to eat rib-eye. However, when you also take in to account the fact that I generally buy hormone free (if not organic) meat, it would make sense.
2006-08-17 11:12:10 · answer #5 · answered by Andy VK from Houston 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This is going to sound like a cop out but it is what I really believe. God never creates suffering in any age. He has given us free will and it is our choice to be the cause or the cure. How do you choose? Your answer makes no difference if you believe in God.
2006-08-17 11:12:06 · answer #6 · answered by jimmaresa 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
This all-compassionate God has a plan for the redemption of his fallen creation.
This to small a place to discuss such weighty issues. It is too constraining.
I need more time to explain things.
2006-08-17 11:09:13 · answer #7 · answered by Adyghe Ha'Yapheh-Phiyah 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Noir...that would be a sermon and not a very good one. If you are going to refer to our Holy Bible...make sure you include Scripture...that's if you really want to debate.
Oh...and taking Scripture out of context doesn't count. (We'll read the Scriptures before and after to keep you on track!)
Someone doesn't understand the concept of Christianity.
2006-08-17 11:08:05 · answer #8 · answered by Salvation is a gift, Eph 2:8-9 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its not our place to know what God had in mind, we are to live life and be happy even in suffering. Just be glad you was born to ask this question, most babys never make it out of the womb alive. Just live for God and be happy in good and bad times.
2006-08-17 11:16:06 · answer #9 · answered by Josh S 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This looks like a sermon to me.
God gives us the choice of going to Heaven or hell and only an individual can make the choice he/she wants for him/herself.
When we are going through bad times, it is our choice to go to God who will deliver us from bad times or to keep going through bad times. No matter what we go through, we should not blame God as it is a sin.
I strongly recomend you read the book of Job in the Bible.
2006-08-17 11:11:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The teaching that God knew before we were created that we would fall, is false. It was the moment God made us, that God had the realization we would fall.
Basically, our spirits choose to come to this world. So all the belly-aching is useless.
2006-08-17 11:09:27 · answer #11 · answered by Tegghiaio Aldobrandi 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋